Schaumburg Boomers

The logo of the Schaumburg Boomers is a great example of the type of creative freedom afforded to minor league baseball teams. From the quirky, localized mascot (a 'boomer' being a male prairie chicken) to its strikingly executed illustration incorporating iconic baseball elements and typography, this is the kind of unique mark which excites fans and supporters.

St Peters College Peacocks

Represented by a wonderful metaphorical juxtaposition of a beautiful aggressive peacock, the mascot of St. Peter's College was chosen for a number reasons, among being the fact that the land on which the campus exists was once owned by a man named Michael Pauw, whose last name means "peacock" in Dutch.

Loyola University Greyhounds

The Loyola University Greyhounds' skillfully composed mascot counter-balanced with slanting text is a good example of two asymmetrical parts combining to produce a symmetrical whole which is both visually interesting and visually pleasing. The depiction of its greyhound, whose artistic quality is self evident, is an appropriately dynamic symbol for the institution's athletic team.

Pepperdine University Waves, 1998-2003

Pepperdine University's athletic team was formerly represented by the greek mythological god, Triton, as a personification of its waves mascot, a creative choice, but also a slightly ironic one considering the university's Christian roots.

Kent State University Golden Flashes

Originally known as the Silver Foxes, influenced by the Kent State University president's raising of the breed on his farm, the name was later changed to the Golden Flashes after a college-wide team naming contest following the controversial firing of the president in 1926. The mark plays on the idea of a diving golden eagle (which can reach speeds of up to 150 miles/hour), to create a wholly original and expressive identity - an important ingredient in generating fan enthusiasm and team support.

Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs

As a testament to the area's rich steel history, Minor League Baseball's Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs are named after raw steel, known colloquially as "pig iron". Quite apart from its practical strengths - simple lines, basic color palette and balanced proportions - the logo is a wonderful visual interpretation of the team's identity which has been resoundingly endorsed as evidenced by the team's strong merchandise sales.

Miami Heat

Representing its abstract mascot with a flaming fire[basketball]ball is a creative solution for the NBA's Miami Heat. Although the tail end of the flame could use some refinement and the hoop is a slight distraction, overall this mark is both visually pleasing and functionally practical for its wide range of application requirements.

Ryerson Rams

Because visual identities don't exist simply as self aggrandizing monuments to an artist's artistic talent, logo design, particularly athletic logo design should be concerned not simply with looking good on paper or screen, but working well in different sizes and on different mediums. The logo of Canada based Ryerson Rams is such a mark which is expressively and skillfully crafted with a single color and simple lines in such a way that it looks great and works practically on everything from ink on paper to embroidery on fabric.

Sydney Roosters

Australia's Sydney Roosters Football Club turns what is an awkward animal and quirky mascot into a strong, proud figurehead whose adoption was rumored to have been inspired by the French national team's mascot, "le coq".

Joliet Slammers

Minor League Baseball carries a tradition of novel team identities and the Joliet Slammers are no exception owing to their logo's visual interpretation of a clever word play on the term "slammers", both a slang reference to a prison and a noun for someone who hits bases loaded home runs.

Depicting a baseball diamond in a prison yard surrounded by barbed wire topped walls overlooked by a guard tower, the logo is vividly illustrated in a symmetrical fashion, interweaving the team's name neatly like a jigsaw puzzle. Compounding the rhetorical double entendre, the team's mascot is a black crow nicknamed, J. Bird from the colloquial term referring to prisoners as jailbirds.

Although the area is well known for its proximity to a couple of large penitentiaries, the risk of its convict association being considered a little unsavory seems to be fairly well neutralized by the logo's cartoonish rendering.

New Hampshire Primaries

Playing off the state's hosting of the famous presidential primary election every four years which signals the start of the next election cycle, the New Hampshire Primaries cleverly adopted both an elephant and donkey as mascots representing the Republican and Democratic parties respectively.

Lancaster Jethawks

The mark of minor league baseball's Lancaster Jethawks is an effective visual metaphor constructed by combining elements of the club's unique identity, from its proud hawk and crossed baseball bats to the emblematic wings representing the area's association with the aerospace industry. Versatile enough that icon variations can be extracted from it depending on the necessary application, the crest-like logo is a strong merchandising asset for the organization.

Boston Bruins

The Boston Bruins' custom badge lockup shies away from the popular trend of slick, athletic illustrations in favor of a classical stylized bear mascot with a polished, modern feel and in doing so, successfully showcases its past while embracing the present